License Your Invention: Take Your Great Idea to Market with a Solid Legal Agreement [With *]

by Richard Stim

Book Overview

License Your Invention covers everything inventors need to know to enter into a good written agreement with a manufacturer, marketer or distributor. Readers will learn how to draft a license, and find... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 087337407X
• ISBN13: 9780873374071
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: NOLO
• Length: 500 Pages
• Weight: 1.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 10.9" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Terrific guide even if you have an attorney

First of all I think the book (the most recent edition as well as earlier versions) is first rate and I highly recommend it. Although the book is geared for do-it-yourself licensors, it is also terrific to help people who are looking for an attorney or who have one they are already working with. Having been a attorney focusing on intellectual property licensing for more than 30 years and teaching licensing to non-lawyer grad students, I know first hand that this book is a comprehensive albeit superficial overview of the licensing process. Despite how good the book is, it will not transform the reader into intellectual property licensing expert. In the real world, licensing situations often become far more complicated than the impression the book provides. That is especially true when you are trying to negotiate with a large company with experienced IP lawyers. Its like trying to out negotiate a car salesman when buying a car. What the book does impart is a much greater knowledge of the overall landscape. The more you know, the better it is to work with your own lawyer to help you through the complications. People license to make money so the better the license, the more money that can be made. Also beware that the book seems to focus mostly on patent licensing as opposed to other forms of intellectual property where the strategies and nuances are different. Again, this is only slight criticism as I did very much like the book. It is definitely a useful read for neophytes to licensing. Joe Hustein

Nolo is the best in the business

I first purchased "Patent it yourself" by David Pressman and distributed by Nolo. This book is on the same level. Very clear and concise. It is not an attorney, but boy does it give you the necessary terminology and concepts that will dramatically increase your understanding of the licensing process. If you have any doubts, go to the Nolo website and listen to a podcast about the subject matter that will be covered and then make your decision. In my opinion...Great buy!!

An Absolute Must Read for Inventors

If you have a patented or a patentable invention and have decided not to manufacture or market it yourself, but wish to license a company to do so, this book is for you. In fact, it is a must read. The book covers not only the licensing of inventions but the licensing of trade secrets and copyrights. As the author points out, manufacturing your invention yourself (venturing) is often not the wisest course. Few inventors have the funds or the experience to run a successful business venture. Also the cost of fighting infringers can be financially devastating for a new enterprise. Perhaps the greatest strength of this book is its ability to explain legal terms and legal fine points in down to earth, everyday, language. An example of the practical approach this book takes is when the author comments: "Sad as it may seem, you may be better off with no license at all than a licensee that has a reputation for acting unethically". He further notes that finding the right partner for a license can be harder than inventing and patenting. The author points out how some common agreements you as an inventor may make may have an impact your ability to license. He cites ten examples. One is a representation (rep) agreement that may require paying the rep a percentage of your license even though the rep was not involved in negotiating it! How commercial is your invention? A list of 33 areas and factors to check is given. When you consider that only two or three out of a 100 new inventions succeed, it is well worth your time to go over this list early on. The book notes even brilliant inventions may be ignored by the public if the price is too high. While many inventors worry about infringers, you should also be aware of the fact that "Many patent owners use their patents to earn more money stopping infringers than from selling the invention". An area that inventors seldom worry about is how their spouse may affect their license. Under various state laws, not only can spouses share ordinary property, but they can share intellectual property as well. Their signature on an assignment may be required. Similar to this is the vital importance of spelling out the rights involved in a joint ownership agreement. A three page form for doing this is given in the book. A convenient feature of this book is that copies of forms appear alongside the subject under discussion. The forms also appear in the appendix and on a floppy disk located on the inside back cover of the book. (17 forms are provided.) Several pages are devoted to the subject of invention marketing scams and on how to recognize a phony marketing company. Despite the best efforts of state and federal law agencies, scams take American inventors for hundreds of millions of dollars every year. If you do nothing else, read these pages. For various reasons, companies fear and resist ideas from an outside source. The author offers suggestions for overcoming the "kooky loner" image that Hollywood has foisted

What to do when license is in hand

This book is heavy on the legal information (it's from Nolo Press) but light on what to do to get an invention licensed. Has good legal advice which would be a use to any invcentor who has a deal ready to go, but not much help on evaluating the proct for license or how to get a licenseing deal to come about. Would recommend this book only for those who have already made prototypes, contacted licensees, and are ready to start writing contracts - then get this useful book.

Everything you need to know about the licensing process

"Take Your Great Idea to Market With a Solid Legal Agreement" promises this new book. The promise is fulfilled with plenty of solid details about the licensing process. This is not about venturing or bringing your own invention to market, but about protecting your property rights while licensing the invention. This would include inventors who work for companies that may want to license their work.